Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) is without doubt one of the most influential American painters of the twentieth century. Dead at the age of 44, he nonetheless bequeathed a substantial body of pioneering work to countless subsequent artists for whom he stood as a model of fearlessness, courageous improvisation and balletic grace. Throughout his life, Pollock wrote very little about his own art or that of others, but in the few completed writings that do remain, and in a few unpublished, undated notes--all of which are gathered in this volume--the concerns are remarkably consistent. Pollock routinely referred to his interest in the unconscious as the source of modern art, and in abstraction as enabling both the direct expression of an "inner world," of individual feeling, and the urgencies and tensions of modern American life (famously characterized, in his words, by "the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio"). Pollock's most famous statement on his method exemplifies this concern with a creativity arising from an unconscious: "When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about." In this introduction to Pollock's art and thought, Nancy Jachec traces these and other themes across 120 color reproductions.
Featured image, "Number 8, 1951, Black Flowing," from 1951, is reproduced from Poligrafa'sWorks, Writings, Interviews.
STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely.
FROM THE BOOK
"I don’t work from drawings or color sketches. My painting is direct. I usually paint on the floor. I enjoy working on a large canvas. I feel more at home, more at ease in a big area. Having a canvas on the floor, I feel nearer, more a part of the painting. This way I can walk around it, work from all four sides and be in the painting, similar to the Indian sand painters of the West. Sometimes I use a brush, but often prefer using a stick. Sometimes I pour the paint straight out of the can. I like to use a dripping, fluid paint. I also use sand, broken glass, pebbles, string, nails, or other foreign matter. The method of painting is the natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement."
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.75 x 11.25 in. / 160 pgs / 120 color / 8 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $60 ISBN: 9788434312586 PUBLISHER: Ediciones Polígrafa AVAILABLE: 6/30/2011 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA Japan
Published by Ediciones Polígrafa. Text by Nancy Jachec.
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) is without doubt one of the most influential American painters of the twentieth century. Dead at the age of 44, he nonetheless bequeathed a substantial body of pioneering work to countless subsequent artists for whom he stood as a model of fearlessness, courageous improvisation and balletic grace. Throughout his life, Pollock wrote very little about his own art or that of others, but in the few completed writings that do remain, and in a few unpublished, undated notes--all of which are gathered in this volume--the concerns are remarkably consistent. Pollock routinely referred to his interest in the unconscious as the source of modern art, and in abstraction as enabling both the direct expression of an "inner world," of individual feeling, and the urgencies and tensions of modern American life (famously characterized, in his words, by "the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio"). Pollock's most famous statement on his method exemplifies this concern with a creativity arising from an unconscious: "When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about." In this introduction to Pollock's art and thought, Nancy Jachec traces these and other themes across 120 color reproductions.
